Upgrade Build- Dowtish's 120 gal Oceanic Tech Tank DSPS
- Thread starter dowtish
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sahin
Ultimate Reefer
dowtish
New member
I honestly am not sure what the parameters are because I have quit testing. LOL
The last time I checked my p04 was about 4 months ago I think and it was 0.06 on the hanna. I am however seeing some nasty growth on my sandbed but I am certain it is because of my RODI filters need changing. I just received new DI resin and filters so I plan to change them out this weekend. I did buy some new mixing tubs as the others had built up some nastyness and I honestly am too lazy to soak them and attempt to clean them, so I just bought new ones.
Speaking of Lazy, that has been what Ive been. All this shouldve been done moths ago. I shouldve done a water change or 6 too. The problem is, I come home from work and my SPS look fantastic and keep growing so I really dont mind the rest.
+1 A beautiful tank like this deserves frequent updates.
Thanks sahin! update above...if thats what you want to call it....
I'll get some pics up soon.
I'm upgrading my 72 bowfront to a 120 gallon 48x24x24 in a few months. I Need to use a canopy and I want to do metal halide and t5. I would rather not do a retrofit unless I have to. I was looking at a geissman spectra fixture and the Hamilton Cebu and was considering doing 400w with 20k radiums or 250w. Do you think the fixture would fit in a Monterey canopy and should I do 400 or 250?
Awesome tank and love the aquascape!
Awesome tank and love the aquascape!
dowtish
New member
If you are able to source a giessman Spectra fixture find a way NOT to put it in a canopy. It was designed to be a stand alone fixture and will dissipate heat that way. You are going to have heat issues that would be eliminated easily by just not using a canopy. Using 250W wouldnt really change the heat issue either IMO. If a canopy is a must I would find another option and not put such a beautiful fixture inside a canopy where it cant be seen.
Thanks for the comments!
dowtish
New member
Last photo update was last year...such a long time ago...
sahin-
I am here to report some bad news. I just recently went to Hawaii for 9 days and returned to a semi-crash going on. I do not know what has happened exactly as I am still troubleshooting all possibilities. I have yet to lose anything completely but there are about 6 large colonies that are on the verge of of total loss.
It is very odd because none of the effected corals are showing the same signs. Some are peeling midway on branches. None are peeling from the bottom. Some have burnt tips, and some are just simply browned out or fading.
I have tested all parameters and it is possible that my live in pet sitter could have overfed as my p04 was 0.20 and it usually runs at 0.05-0.06.
I am also wondering if its a residual from using Sentinel recently to treat for redbugs. The last treatment made my skimmer overflow for almost a week even after multiple water changes, which was never the case before. The weird thing that has me thinking this is as soon as I got home I started to run fresh carbon and did a 10 gal WC just as an immediate response and my skimmer overflowed for 2 days. I usually siphon small areas of the sand bed when I do my WC and it makes me think there is some sort of residual from the Sentinel in my sandbed....I mean WHy would my skimmer overflow from a WC??????
IDK...grasping at anything at this point....
afernandez
Never Quit!!
Ouch sorry to hear that!
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
THe PO4 jump could be a possibility...Sentinel...Dont know...I used Interceptor on the tank before and whilst I had an algae bloom, the corals were fine and I didnt even do any real water changes other than what I do normally. Sorry that you have lost or are losing some of the big colonies. It hurts when losing large corals that you have taken care of over many years to grow. Hopefully you dont lose more.
I would just check that the mixing buckets are clean and no one chucked anything in them. With that checked, running small amounts of GAC and carrying out 10% water changes every 2-3 days for a week or more helps IME.
I would just check that the mixing buckets are clean and no one chucked anything in them. With that checked, running small amounts of GAC and carrying out 10% water changes every 2-3 days for a week or more helps IME.
dowtish
New member
Yeah man, but where is the fun in a tank just on cruise control?! hahahaha
I just recently changed my Brute trash can to a new one for my RODI. That makes me wonder if something was in it????
But the overflowing skimmer after the slight water change I think is the real sign of the issue. I'm going to continue multiple small WC's and keep fresh GAC running and more than likely it will stop. I'll keep you updated.
dowtish
New member
UPDATE:
My tank is still struggling. I have done quite a few things to get everything back on track and to eliminate any possible issues that may have been causing the problems, but yet, I still have some peeling going on. Very slow peeling but peeling of tissue none the less.
All new storage containers for RODI
All new refills in RODI
Steady water changes every weekend
New bucket of Salt and new 2 part chemicals
New digital refractometer
I am frustrated as all parameters have been spot on and super steady for well over 2 weeks now. Even a bit more steady than they have been in a long time. I am still struggling with the thought that the something from the Sentinel treatment has settled out into the sandbed and is causing the issue. Because everytime I siphon a bit of sand for a WC my skimmer overflows for a few hours...
I think my plan is to start slowly removing as much sand as possible over time when I do water changes. I have siphoned the sandbed since the beginning of this setup so I am not worried about releasing anything toxic to the system.
Thats all I got for now. Feel free to suggest anything.
My tank is still struggling. I have done quite a few things to get everything back on track and to eliminate any possible issues that may have been causing the problems, but yet, I still have some peeling going on. Very slow peeling but peeling of tissue none the less.
All new storage containers for RODI
All new refills in RODI
Steady water changes every weekend
New bucket of Salt and new 2 part chemicals
New digital refractometer
I am frustrated as all parameters have been spot on and super steady for well over 2 weeks now. Even a bit more steady than they have been in a long time. I am still struggling with the thought that the something from the Sentinel treatment has settled out into the sandbed and is causing the issue. Because everytime I siphon a bit of sand for a WC my skimmer overflows for a few hours...
I think my plan is to start slowly removing as much sand as possible over time when I do water changes. I have siphoned the sandbed since the beginning of this setup so I am not worried about releasing anything toxic to the system.
Thats all I got for now. Feel free to suggest anything.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
Have you checked for Chloramines in your areas water supply?
Have you checked for electrical leakage?
Have you checked for Acro Eating Spiders? - Yup you read it right...Steve Tyree came across these years ago. Whilst dipping an unhealthy largish sized acro frag some months back I found two.
Other pests?
Have you checked all magnets/pumps/etc to ensure the internal magnet components are not rusting in the tank releasing potentially toxic metal mixes? - One of my MP10 magnets split some years back causing similar issues.
Are you dosing anything other than the main 3?
If you havea seperate tank I'd break a part of a coral thats not happy and see if it recovers in the other tank. But ensure that you dip etc before putting into the other tank.
Uncle Luke
Active member
Excellent advice Sahin!
dowtish
New member
There are no chloramines in our water system. I actually build large storage tanks for municipal water systems and know the people of my utility personally. I checked on this when I moved and I have a friend who would let me know if they started to treat the water differently.
I dont think there are other pests but I know nothing about the spiders and what to look for. This is a straight up tissue peeling issue now. I will look more into them but seriously doubt that is the issue since all these acros went through a massive Bayer dips process in QT when I had AEFW. I have added nothing new since.
I will pull my MP40s and check the magnets and will also check my return pump.
There is no stray voltage.
I periodically dose some Aminos from Warner Marine but havent since the cyano has come back around. Its been at least 2 months since I dosed it.
Thanks sahin for all the suggestions.
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
I just re-read about the STN issues, and what you describe is similar to what I experienced last year. No pests, but STN at base, others had STN in the middle of the coral and others had burnt tips.
I only managed to save what I did by transferring affected corals to my buddies tanks.
With my tank there was the possibility that it was caused by a relative who had sprayed air freshener right over my tank. I'll never know for sure.
I restarted the tank with new rocks and sand and the problem went away completely.
This sucks big time. Sorry man.
dowtish
New member
I just re-read about the STN issues, and what you describe is similar to what I experienced last year. No pests, but STN at base, others had STN in the middle of the coral and others had burnt tips.
I only managed to save what I did by transferring affected corals to my buddies tanks.
With my tank there was the possibility that it was caused by a relative who had sprayed air freshener right over my tank. I'll never know for sure.
I restarted the tank with new rocks and sand and the problem went away completely.
This sucks big time. Sorry man.
I can only imagine that the petsitter could have done something like this...:headwally:
I siphoned some sand out last night while doing a 5 gallon WC. My skimmer again went crazy and overflowed all night until this morning. My PC rainbow immediately shows signs of stress and other then begin to slime a bit. I am almost certain it is from the Sentinel treatments. I believe I am going to rehome most of the SPS at a friends and remove all the sandbed somewhat slowly.
dowtish
New member
Well, here we are, another year later. Guess I should update the thread. The tank suffered a slow grouling death. Partly due to a mystery, and then mostly due to frustrated neglect. I have full intention to get the tank back going again very soon. So I wanted to post here again.
Right now I have 6 fish, 3 nems, 6 corals, and 3 million aptasia. I plan on tearing down the tank in the next couple of weeks and reworking all my wiring and changing a few things with my plumbing. All new rock and going to try barebottom. Updates to follow....
Right now I have 6 fish, 3 nems, 6 corals, and 3 million aptasia. I plan on tearing down the tank in the next couple of weeks and reworking all my wiring and changing a few things with my plumbing. All new rock and going to try barebottom. Updates to follow....
